Jiang Human Emperor Might Cultivate the Demonic Path

Chapter 4: Jiang Human Emperor... Might Be Cultivating Demonic Arts

Jiang Li understood what was happening. The Jiang Family wanted to use him as a banner but didn't dare fabricate a close relationship directly, so instead they gave others the impression of one.

"You said earlier that the missing children were connected to Jiang Human Emperor. What's that about?"

The middle-aged man's smile faded, his expression turning serious. He didn't want to discuss it with Jiang Li and even released the pressure of Golden Core Stage, hoping to make Jiang Li back off. In his eyes, Jiang Li was merely a Qi Refining layer youngster.

As a Golden Core senior, he felt it necessary to make this kid retreat and not get involved in this dangerous matter.

"Don't talk about this. It's dangerous for you!"

But Jiang Li controlled his power at Nascent Soul Stage peak and released his pressure in return.

"I'd like to see what danger there could be."

"N-Nascent Soul Stage..."

This matter was clearly connected to Jiang Li, and the middle-aged man had misconceptions about him. If Jiang Li revealed his true identity, the man would be even less likely to tell the truth. So Jiang Li chose to disguise himself as a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator—strong enough to intimidate the middle-aged man, but not so strong as to be unbelievable.

The middle-aged man quickly bowed. "So you're a Nascent Soul senior. Yuan Wu Xing failed to recognize a True Person."

Cold sweat dripped down Yuan Wu Xing's back. Who would have thought that the indignant youth he casually stopped on the roadside was Nascent Soul Stage? The man looked young, but he might be a centuries-old monster. Though his earlier behavior hadn't been rude, if this senior had a petty temper, things would go badly.

In Yuan Wu Xing's eyes, Nascent Soul Stage was already an extremely formidable cultivator. The entire Qing City had only a handful, and the Qing City Lord himself was merely Nascent Soul Early Stage.

"Enough, I'm not blaming you. Now can you tell me about the missing children?"

Jiang Li withdrew his pressure and asked calmly.

After some inner struggle, Yuan Wu Xing finally steeled himself. "Senior, can you swear to the Heavenly Dao that this won't be spread?"

The path of cultivation emphasized following the Heavenly Dao, so swearing to Heaven was no small matter. Most cultivators believed that breaking such an oath would bring the promised punishment.

Without hesitation, Jiang Li raised two fingers and said solemnly, "I swear to the Heavenly Dao that what Yuan Wu Xing tells me next will not reach a third person. If I break this oath, may the Ascension Tribulation punish me!"

Yuan Wu Xing was deeply impressed. This was a severe punishment—breaking the oath would mean facing the Ascension Tribulation, certain death for a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Of course, he didn't know that Jiang Li would welcome multiple Ascension Tribulations.

"Senior, please come to my humble home."

Yuan Wu Xing invited Jiang Li to his residence, expertly set up several layers of Formations, then gritted his teeth and crushed a jade token to add a Formation even Nascent Soul cultivators couldn't penetrate.

He brewed a pot of treasured tea, pouring a cup for Jiang Li first, then himself.

"It started ten years ago. I was already at Golden Core Stage peak, just a thin membrane away from breaking through to Nascent Soul Stage. But that membrane eluded me for twenty years with no breakthrough method, so I came to Qing City seeking inspiration."

"As soon as I arrived, I found people had lost children. I like helping, so I wanted to assist them. But when I investigated, I realized things weren't that simple—it was chilling. It wasn't just recent disappearances. Qing City and several nearby cities had been losing children for over two hundred years, and all of them were infants less than a year old!"

"I also noticed that the timing of the disappearances matched the Jiang Family's ancestor worship. The more frequently they held ceremonies, the more children went missing. So I investigated the Jiang Family and confirmed they were stealing the children. I overheard conversations between the Jiang Family Head and the City Lord. The Jiang Family colluded with successive Qing City Lords to suppress the disappearances. At first, Qing City Government sent people to pretend to search, but in the last two years, they stopped even pretending, claiming insufficient manpower and giving up! A bunch of bastards!"

At this point, Yuan Wu Xing's forehead veins bulged with rage, and he crushed his teacup to pieces.

"The Jiang Family has the Human Emperor backing them. If I rashly exposed this, the one who'd suffer wouldn't be the Jiang Family—it would be me!"

"I must find solid evidence and make it public. Then, even if the Human Emperor himself came, he couldn't silence the public!"

Jiang Li was silent for a moment, then asked, "What do the Jiang Family want these infants for?"

"This..." Yuan Wu Xing hesitated, "...I don't know. Maybe to refine artifacts."

Jiang Li stared into Yuan Wu Xing's eyes, his voice extremely stern. "You're lying. What are you afraid of!"

Yuan Wu Xing's scalp tingled under that gaze. "Senior, this really can't be said. Whoever speaks of it dies!"

Jiang Li took a jade token from his Storage Ring. On the front was written "Dao Sect," and on the back was a constantly spinning Taiji pattern. The entire token was seamless, as if naturally formed rather than carved.

"And now?"

Yuan Wu Xing's eyes widened as he stared at the token in disbelief. His lips trembled—whether from fear of meeting a great figure or excitement at seeing hope.

"A Dao Sect Token! You're the Dao Sect Emissary!?"

The Dao Sect Token—whoever saw it was as if seeing the Dao Sect Master himself.

There were no more than five such tokens, held either by Tribulation Stage cultivators or the Dao Sect Emissary. This Nascent Soul senior clearly belonged to the latter.

This man probably wasn't the centuries-old monster Yuan Wu Xing had imagined, but a genius who had reached Nascent Soul Stage at around twenty years old! Jiang Li nodded. "This Seat neither changes my name nor alters my surname. I am Zhang Li, the current Dao Sect Emissary."

Jiang Li temporarily made up a name and identity. Given his relationship with the Dao Sect Master, the man wouldn't blame him.

"So you're the Dao Sect Emissary! And I made you swear an oath, this, this, this..."

Yuan Wu Xing was so excited he couldn't speak coherently. The Dao Sect Emissary was the guaranteed next Dao Sect Master, a future top-tier great cultivator. As the oldest sect, the Dao Sect had existed even longer than the Human Emperor Palace, with frequent Immortals emerging and profound foundations—one of the few powers unafraid of the Human Emperor Palace.

Of course, all this was predicated on excluding Jiang Li, the strongest Human Emperor in history.

With the Dao Sect Emissary involved, their chances of toppling the Jiang Family were much greater!

Yuan Wu Xing's joy showed on his face. He silently recited the Heart Cleansing Art several times before barely calming himself.

"The reason I didn't dare speak was fear of implicating Senior Zhang. Jiang Human Emperor might personally erase us both. But since Senior Zhang is the Dao Sect Emissary, you're presumably unafraid of the Human Emperor."

"Jiang Human Emperor... might be cultivating demonic arts!"

Yuan Wu Xing lowered his voice to barely a whisper, as if speaking louder would let the Human Emperor hear.

After saying this, he watched Jiang Li, expecting to see shock or horror on his face. Instead, the other man looked utterly unconcerned, even showing a hint of a smile.